Compound Words - Alphabetics I-Q Quiz

Answer: Invest

Opposite of out = in
Another name of a waistcoat = vest
In + vest = Invest

Divest is the opposite of invest and infuse can be a synonym for invest.

Answer: Jackknife

What you use to lift up a car = jack
What you cut with = knife
Jack + knife = Jackknife

Jackknife is probably most familiar as what happens to a tractor-trailer in an accident as in: The semi jackknifed on the freeway.

Answer: Keyboard

What you use to unlock something = key
A piece of wood = board
Key + board = Keyboard

The word keyboard was first used in reference to pianos and organs but was eventually also adopted for machines like computers.

Answer: Landlord

Another word for ground or sod = land
A title of nobility = lord
Land + lord = Landlord

The idea of a landlord traces its roots back to Roman times when farmers rented their land from the land owner. Today it is applied more to residences, houses or apartments, and not actual land.

Answer: Mainstream

Foremost or principal = main
A small river = stream
Main + stream = Mainstream

Mainstream originally applied to a watercourse but over time began to be applied more generally to widely held opinions, culture, and the like.

Answer: Nightstand

Opposite of day = night
To rise from sitting = stand
Night + stand = Nightstand

Nightstands are also called night tables or bedstands. Before indoor bathrooms were available they used to hold a chamber pot.

Answer: Outcast

Opposite of in = out
What you put on a broken limb = cast
Out + cast = Outcast

The word outcast comes from the idea of a person being cast out. In India the word was outcaste and meant to be expelled from one's caste, a divsion of Indian society.

Answer: Offbeat

Opposite of on = off
What you do to a drum = beat
Off + beat = Offbeat

Offbeat comes from music when someone is out of synch with the beat or off the beat. It has since come to mean anyone or anything different.

Answer: Paperback

What goes in your notebook = paper
The opposite of front = back
Paper + back = Paperback

Most books are published as hardcover editions first and then as paperbacks later.

Answer: Quickstep

The opposite of slow = quick
Stairs are made of individual ones of these = step
Quick + step = Quickstep

Quickstep is a lively ballroom dance that requires great agility and speed.